Progress

"Anyone who could hand out Diamond-Grade Battle Suits—and three at a time, no less—and whose men would rather die than reveal the truth... Only those few official organizations could train soldiers that loyal." Guen's expression was grave.

The Forest Goddess Temple, the Council of Elders, and the Imperial Council were the three titans of the Aoyu Empire.

Chen nodded, then seemed to think of something and added, "But it couldn't have been the Forest Goddess Temple. I'm sure of it."

Guen glanced at Chen but didn't press him for an explanation.

"Let's head to the gathering point first. I hope Uncle Jack and the others are safe. There must be more soldiers' accomplices lying in wait nearby." Hearing the earth-shaking sounds in the distance, Guen knew that others were still fighting the Vajra Ape. "Let's look for their mounts first. We can't let them go to waste."

The ferocity of beasts chosen as mounts had been greatly subdued, so they could easily be seized and put to use.

As for the Diamond-Grade Battle Suits, they stripped them all off. Guen didn't take one, but Chen did change out of his Gold-Grade Battle Suit.

After circling around, they easily found the three men's mounts.

Yellow Lion Tigers were among the more outstanding mid-tier Magic Beasts. They weren't known for their combat prowess, but for their speed and stamina, and they also bred readily.

"These seem to be the Empire's favorite mounts for its army." Guen blinked. The Aoyu Empire lagged behind in the study of forging and Secret Methods, and with so many Ferocious Beasts in its environment, taming them had become the choice of every cultivator here.

Horned Boar Beasts were a prime example.

They were low-level and hardy, and could be ridden fearlessly even in low-tier battles.

Only the Three Official Organizations had the skill to tame mid-tier Magic Beasts.

The Yellow Lion Tiger in particular was a Ferocious Beast that didn't exist in nature.

"Looks like they didn't bother hiding their identities." Chen found it somewhat amusing. They'd been guessing who their opponents were, but now that they'd seen the Yellow Lion Tigers, the answer was obvious.

The Forest Goddess Temple specialized in raising Mount Eagles and Moon Tigers, while the Council of Elders favored Biao Mountain Leopards. The Imperial Council alone, lacking sufficient breeding techniques, had ultimately developed the hybrid Ferocious Beast known as the Yellow Lion Tiger.

The Imperial Council represented the Royal Family of the Aoyu Empire.

Why would Uncle Jack get mixed up with people from the Royal Family?

With that question on their minds, Guen and Chen hurried toward their destination.

Every night, a hazy Light Ray enveloped the entire Starlight Forest. From a distance, it looked like starlight. Beneath that radiance, however, Ferocious Beasts grew at a remarkable rate, which was why so many High-Tier Ferocious Beasts gathered there.

They crossed the forest, encountering many High-Tier Ferocious Beasts along the way.

Most of them were Tier 7 Ferocious Beasts. Even when they came across Tier 8 ones, Guen and Chen would avoid them. Tier 8 Ferocious Beasts could take far more punishment than people.

Against a Tier 8 Warrior, Guen still had a good chance of winning.

But Tier 8 Ferocious Beasts were simply too difficult to deal with. A fight would take a long time to leave one badly wounded, and other Ferocious Beasts would converge on them. Even if they won, they'd be in grave danger.

So Guen would judge each Tier 7 Ferocious Beast by the situation. If there were no others nearby, he'd use it to hone his skills.

When they encountered a Tier 8 Ferocious Beast, they simply avoided it.

Tier 9 Ferocious Beasts were rare in the Starlight Forest, too. That was why, when they'd encountered the Vajra Ape that day, they'd had no choice but to split up and flee, knowing that someone else was lurking nearby.

Along the way, Guen had gone out of his way to seek out these Ferocious Beasts. He needed to hone his skills and vent his emotions.

The benefits were plain to see: his fist technique had improved once again.

He could now perform forty-seven forms of the Hundred Refinement Fist. Each additional form he mastered increased the power of his strikes by ten percent.

"Training like this really is the most effective." Guen was thrilled.

At home, his parents sometimes found him powerful Ferocious Beasts to fight, or sought out vile warriors for him to spar against. But with his parents protecting him nearby, the training had been effective at first, then gradually yielded diminishing returns.

It had taken Guen more than two years to progress from the fortieth punch to the forty-fifth.

But mastering the first forty punches had taken him only three years. Now, at last, he was making progress as fast as he had back then.

"Real combat really does help you improve. It's far better than shutting yourself away to cultivate."

Guen and Chen checked their surroundings, then settled down to rest.

Guen took the opportunity to begin cultivating.

Wisps of Cosmic Energy slowly flowed into his body.

Cosmic Energy was everywhere. In the vastness of the universe, it was inexhaustible. Absorbing it was the only way to strengthen the body and gain greater power.

For ordinary people, the greatest appeal of joining an organization was its cultivation method for absorbing Cosmic Energy.

Different methods yielded vastly different results. Some people could cultivate for several years and still achieve less than someone else did in one. In many cases, their method of absorption was simply inferior.

Of course, the main reason was still the cultivator himself.

The body could absorb only a limited amount of Cosmic Energy. It was like trying to feed someone more food after they were already full—they simply couldn't eat any more.

Making the body hungry for it was one way to improve the speed of cultivation.

His father, Kolong, had told him that the tiny units that made up the body were called cells. Now, those cells were greedily devouring Cosmic Force and strengthening his body. After such a hard battle, they were ravenous, absorbing a steady stream of Cosmic Energy.

For Guen, cultivating after a fierce battle felt wonderful.

"Guen really is hardworking. He won't waste even a moment. No wonder he's so strong." Chen stroked the Diamond Unicorn as he spoke.

Most people in the Aoyu Empire had black hair. Other colors were rare.

Guen's red hair and Chen's green hair made them stand out wherever they went.

Chen lounged half-reclined on the Diamond Unicorn, his eyes half-closed. Wisps of Cosmic Energy were slowly absorbed into his body, drawn in rhythmically with each breath. The amount was far less than Guen absorbed, but it was steady, and he didn't need to focus on it.

Only after a long while did Guen let out a deep breath.

Seeing that Chen was cultivating, he couldn't help walking aside to practice his fist technique.

Before one grasped its principles, the Hundred Refinement Fist was just an ordinary set of punches. Rehearsing it over and over let one gradually sense how the body exerted force. It couldn't be used in battle, but practicing it repeatedly was still very helpful.

But whenever Guen reached the forty-eighth punch, it felt awkward, and he couldn't complete the move.

"The Hundred Refinement Fist isn't simple. Father said the Ape-man Race is a vast people. Any one of its branches outnumbers many human races. Some branches are incredibly powerful; their members reach the equivalent of Super Tier Planetary Level as soon as they come of age. Yet they still have to train in the Hundred Refinement Fist. It's the easiest way to raise your Force Multiplier, and the most important Basic Fist Technique among the Ape-men."

So Guen practiced it again and again. His movements looked slow and calm, but every punch unleashed his full strength. Only then could he more deeply sense how his body behaved as it exerted force, which would help him understand the next punch.

Being able to keep one's strength restrained was proof of skill, too.

"You're done? Get ready. Tomorrow we'll enter the Golden-Bearded Mastiff's territory. Only three days have passed since the five-day deadline Uncle Jack gave us, so let's scout out the area first." Seeing Guen practicing his punches, Chen opened his eyes and offered his suggestion.

"Yeah. We've already noticed more people around here. From now on, I won't seek out High-Tier Ferocious Beasts to hone my combat skills." Guen nodded.

Chen saw this, closed his eyes again, and continued his own unusual form of cultivation.